Confirmation of Candidature - Candidate : Moria Drake

Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek (1966 - present) franchise centres on a bright utopia, a rarity in science fiction television (Alexander, 1995). While studies have explored how race, class and heteronormative gender roles are reflected in this humanist future (Grech 2020; Joyrich 1996; Kerry 2009), few have examined how the franchise has been shaped by feminist and queer theories. Rarely has a single expanded universe given clear snapshots of the future aspirations of an era; rarer still do the instalments align with identifiable movements in social theory, such as second and third wave feminism and the emergence of queer theory. the responses to recent additions to the franchise have been met with backlash, notably accusations of pandering to a politically correct audience (Reynoso 2020). Through a critical thematic analysis of the 850 episodes and 23 films of Star Trek, the shows' contemporary queer and feminist seminal works, and fan discussions, this study examines the implied and implicit queerness of the Roddenberrian future. Welcome to the communist gay future of the 23rd, 24th, and 29th centuries.

References
Alexander, D 1995, Star trek creator: the authorized biography of Gene Roddenberry, Roc, New York.
Grech, V 2020, `Doctors in Star Trek: Hugh Culber in Star Trek: Discovery', Early Human Development, vol. 144, p. 104995.
hooks, b 2006, Outlaw culture: resisting representations, Routledge classics, Routledge, New York.
Joyrich, L 1996, `Feminist Enterprise? "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the Occupation of Femininity', Cinema Journal, vol. 35, no. 2, p. 61.
Kerry, S 2009, `"There's Genderqueers on the Starboard Bow": The Pregnant Male in Star Trek', The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 699¿714.
Reynoso, M 2020, `The Influence of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on the Increase and Normalization of Misogynistic Rhetoric in the Internet Movie Database's Amateur Film and Television Reviews', ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, M.A., California State University, Fresno, United States -- California, <https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/influence-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-on/docview/2465720438/se-2?accountid=14647>.

For more information, please email the Graduate Research School or phone 0746 31 1088.